"In 1943, I fought a good battle against the Japanese army after a long long run, saving 1,000 people and a batch of treasures. —Fang Xinchang
In early February 1942, the 15th Army Corps of the Japanese invaders gathered more than 100,000 troops on the Thai-Burmese border, and under the leadership of its corps commander Shojiro Sakata, launched a large-scale invasion in early March.
At that time, the Chinese troops to aid Burma were formed in batches and were not yet equipped and trained, so the Chinese troops had to withdraw into India one after another to avoid their advance. The arrogant Japanese invading army once again marched eastward, intending to forcibly cross the Nu River, invade western Yunnan, and then cut off the only route from the mainland to overseas.
Expeditionary force
In these years of gunsmoke and war, in the headquarters of the commander of the Kunming Expeditionary Force, suddenly a fellow Wa from the western border of Yunnan came to ask for help. The visitor was not very old, and his eyes were shining on his dark and red face, and he looked very tired from the long journey and the dust. According to his report, he was the fourth son of Ban Lane (Hong) Ma Tusi, named Ma Si.
Ban Lane (Hong) is located in the lower reaches of the Nu River, west of Mengding Street, on the mainland side of the Sino-Burmese border, and the rolling lane of Myanmar is a water, across the river. Recently, the Japanese invading army has occupied the Rolling Lane, and often crossed the river to plunder grain, cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks.
In mid-May, Ma Si's father was also abducted, and it was heard that he was tortured to extract confessions, in a vain attempt to find the weapons, ammunition and family treasures buried in Ban Lang Ma Tusi. Fortunately, Ma Si was out of the way and did not fall into the hands of the enemy. This time, he rushed to Kunming not only to report the enemy's situation to our army, but also to ask our army for assistance to relieve their suffering.
Compatriots who came to ask for help
According to Xiao Tusi's report, in order to unite the nationalities in the border areas to jointly resist Japan, the Commander's Department of the Expeditionary Force decided to order Wang Lingyun, commander of the Second Army, to send a powerful fighting force to help. Due to the steep roads in the Rolling Area and the inability to send a large army on a long-distance journey, the military headquarters decided to send the 27th Regiment of the 9th Division to attack the Japanese troops on a long-distance journey.
The 27th Regiment of the 9th Division is an elite force, and it is the old foundation of the 2nd Regiment taught by the Whampoa Military Academy when it founded the Revolutionary Army. This unit has an extremely glorious record, after years of hard fighting, the regimental flag has not been changed, and it is still the old regimental flag used during the Northern Expedition - the sickle and axe flag. Although the regimental flag is tattered and there are dozens of patches, the regiment is strong and brave, and it is the strength of the division.
Battalion Commander Fang Xinchang, a native of Fushun County, Sichuan, graduated from the 10th Phase of the Huangpu Military Academy. He has performed well in the battles of Shanghai, Taierzhuang, Yichang, Kunlun Pass, and Tianjiazhen Fortress, and has a tiger spirit.
Flag of the Expeditionary Force
After Fang Xinchang took over the task, the division commander Zhang Jinting was not at ease and specially invited him to the office to teach him face-to-face. Clearly told him that this was a long-distance attack without backup, without any support from divisions and regiments, and that everything was done on his own camera. If the Japanese army wins the battle, it will fight, and if it cannot win, it will withdraw, and it must not fight to the death and fight like positional warfare, but must fight flexibly and mobilely.
Division Commander Zhang once again made the mission clear: the task of the raiding troops was to protect the safe transfer of the people of Banlong, dig up the guns and ammunition buried in Tusi and his gold and silver treasures and hand them over, and assist them in transporting them back. After completing this task, retreat, do not get entangled with the Japanese army.
Valiant warriors
In the early summer of 1943, the rainy season had arrived, and the whole camp was winding along the sheep intestine trail and setting off towards the rolling alley. The mountains are high and densely forested, and the whole camp has no head in front and no tail in the back, like a long snake marching quickly in the humid and sultry mountain forest.
In the tropical forests, the locusts are so large and numerous that they crawl from the soles of their feet to their bodies and slowly burrow into their skins, while the huge long-legged malaria mosquitoes buzz into thunder and fly around. These two pests, which suck human blood, are so painful and terrible that they do not feel it for the first two days, and after three or four days, some of the soldiers gradually contracted malaria.
The expeditionary force marched through the primeval forest
The road is full of dead branches and leaves, and it has accumulated a few inches of thick, heavy, and soft ground, one foot high, one foot low, and it is extremely difficult to walk quickly. In addition, the rain is soaked and wet, corroded and erosive, and after the scorching sun, it emits bursts of odor, which is what everyone calls "miasma", and no matter how strong the body is, if it smells for too long, it will be poisoned.
During the eight-day and eight-night march, the number of sick soldiers increased day by day, and the fallen were buried on the spot. After overcoming great difficulties, the whole battalion finally arrived near Banlong, and the reinforced battalion (600 people) composed of 5 infantry companies, 1 heavy machine gun company and 82 mortar platoon was only 400 people left.
Warriors who died in the primeval forest
The next morning, the battalion commander Fang led the soldiers to Jinchangba. This is a lawn on the top of the hill, about 60 miles away from Ban Lane. The dam is relatively flat, surrounded by high mountains and dense forests, and is a stronghold made in heaven and easy to defend and difficult to attack. The troops were ordered to halt their advance and camp on the spot. In order to capture the fighters, the battalion commander Fang took two companies of personnel into the alley.
Ban Lane is located in a small basin surrounded by mountains. In the local area, it is a small field town, the streets and houses are lined up, there are about hundreds of households, most of the residents are compatriots of the Wa nationality and the Hui nationality, and there are a few Tengjia people and mountain people, and the customs and habits are very different. Most of the houses where they live are bamboo roofs. People live upstairs and livestock downstairs, which is similar to that in rural towns and villages in the interior.
The hill occupied by the Japanese army
After dusk, the moonlight is like a wash, bright and quiet. The battalion commander sent a reinforced company (four platoons) to break through to Mount Pazhan as an outpost to monitor the enemy. He brought a platoon into the town, and the rest remained outside the town to serve as guards. At this time, the street is closed, quiet, and occasionally people come and go.
Battalion Commander Fang, together with adjutant Xiao Pu, herald Zhao Jinshan, and a platoon commander, knocked on several households, all of which were relatively indifferent, and when asked about Ma Tusi's whereabouts and the weapons and treasures he had buried, they all said, "I don't know!" After two consecutive nights of reconnaissance, Battalion Commander Fang did not know anything.
In the evening, Huang Zhengang, deputy division commander, arrived with a radio station, and with him came Xiao Tusima 4 and 70 or 80 armed militiamen. It turned out that as soon as Ma Si arrived in Jinchangba, he sent people back to Banban to communicate. The deputy division commander brought an order to complete the task within three days, so as not to affect the actions of the main forces of the expeditionary force for a long time.
Sniper of the Expeditionary Force
The day after receiving the order, Battalion Commander Fang led all his men out of Jinchang Dam and arrived at Ban Lane at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, enemy horsemen appeared on the opposite mountain pass, about three or four horsemen. Battalion Commander Fang ordered to wait for the cavalry to go down the mountain and put it into the flat dam before destroying it.
As soon as the enemy's cavalry came down the hill, one of the soldiers of the outpost company was impatient and killed one of the horses with one shot, and the other two horsemen, seeing that the situation was not good, took their accomplices who had fallen off their horses and took them on a horse, turned around and ran back. This shot startled the snake, and the current method can only lead the "wolf" out of the nest.
That night, Deputy Battalion Commander Xu Zheng led people to ambush in Jiebang Village, and Battalion Commander Fang led people to Banlong to lure the enemy out of the village. As a result, the Japanese troops closed their doors, the positions were silent, and the whole night passed peacefully. The next day, there was no movement of the Japanese troops, as if there had never been Japanese troops here.
The men of the Masi Tusi faction had already dug up all the guns, bullets, gold and silver belongings that had been buried, and more than 1,000 people to be transferred had also packed up and prepared to retreat early the next day. As soon as Huang Zhen, deputy division commander, saw that the task was basically completed, so he returned to the Jinchangba base ahead of schedule with the radio station.
Heavy machine gunners of the Japanese army
That night, Battalion Commander Fang fell asleep unconsciously due to the fatigue of the day. In the wee hours of the morning, he was suddenly awakened by the sound of gunfire. As soon as he arrived at the position of the reserve company, he received a report that the Japanese had suddenly carried out an artillery bombardment, and the whereabouts of the fighters of the previous squad at the outpost position were unknown.
The Japanese did not normally fight at night, and although they fired a burst of guns at the position of the battalion commander, they only conducted a fire search and did not launch a ground attack. Based on years of experience, Battalion Commander Fang judged that the Japanese army would not launch an attack tonight, and there would definitely be a big battle after dawn. He told the warriors to rest well and prepare for the battle after dawn.
After dawn, the Japanese army and the Burmese puppet army really launched an attack, and the soldiers of the two companies on the first line lay in ambush behind the bunker without moving, without firing a shot. The Japanese thought that the fighters on the position had fled, and rushed forward like wolves. The soldiers of the square battalion suddenly opened fire, and at the front of the position, earth and rocks were splashing, smoke was rising, and a large number of people were killed and injured by our fire.
A surprise attack on the top of the mountain
The enemy chieftain was very fortified and organized several attacks, all of which were repulsed. The battle lasted until the afternoon, and a battle also broke out in the direction of Jiebangzhai. The Japanese mortars fired very accurately, and as soon as the two 82 mortars of the square battalion were fired, the enemy artillery responded with five rounds, and they landed near our gun position. Fortunately, the reserve artillery positions were selected first, and the positions were transferred without waiting for the enemy's second batch of shells to fall.
On this day, the enemy was as fierce as a "wolf" and launched 6 attacks, but they were all repulsed, and there were many dead and wounded in front of the position. Night was falling, and the sound of guns on both sides was sparse. Fang Xinchang sent three heralds and ordered a retreat. At nine o'clock in the evening, Ma Tusi led the people to begin to retreat, in order to support the battalion commander Fang, he left more than 20 fierce Jingpo snipers and a heavy machine gun, and the battalion commander Fang sent them to occupy the commanding heights and block the pass.
Counterattack the Japanese army
On the other hand, on the position of the deputy battalion commander of Jiebang Zhaixu, more than 200 Japanese troops rushed in that night, followed by more than 700 puppet Burmese troops. These Japanese puppet troops were going to reinforce, they thought that they were still far away from Banlong, there was no ambush in the dense forests on the left and right, and the Burmese puppet army was lax in discipline, and they did not care about the taboo of night marching, and they flashed flashlights and smoked, exposing the target.
Deputy battalion commander Xu ordered to shoot and fire, which caught the Japanese puppet army by surprise. The Japanese puppet army returned their guns indiscriminately and rushed forward desperately, and when they ran to Pazhan Mountain, they found that a quarter of the people were killed or wounded. After Deputy Battalion Commander Xu repelled the Japanese puppet army, he retreated with his troops according to the predetermined plan.
After Deputy Battalion Commander Xu retreated with his soldiers, the Japanese puppet army brought in heavy artillery to bombard the top of the mountain, and the Japanese infantry group cautiously rushed to the top of the mountain. The enemy chief was so angry that he screamed and drew his sword to kill the puppet army in charge of reconnaissance. But the defeat was decided, and the Japanese army was helpless.
The Japanese army destroyed by the expeditionary force
In the surprise attack on Banlong, the Fang battalion suffered slight casualties, but the losses of the Japanese puppet army were large. According to the local people, more than 200 Burmese puppet soldiers were killed, and those who were injured are still outside. The Japanese ordered the Burmese puppet army to be buried on the spot; the corpses of the Japanese invaders were burned to ashes, and there were more than 30 horses carrying the ashes boxes alone, and one horse could generally carry two boxes.
In this surprise attack, the battalion commander Fang was brave and strategic, and after the good news was transmitted, he was awarded by the military department. After the battalion commander Fang sent back the rescued old Tusi and more than 1,000 people, as well as a batch of gold and silver treasures of Tusi, he was ordered to lead the Fang battalion back to Jinchangba to fight guerrillas with Xiao Tusi and continue to eliminate the Japanese puppet army entrenched here.
Military uniforms and sabers captured in raids
Since then, this heroic and brilliant surprise attack has come to a successful end. Fang Xinchang's battle was fought beautifully and brilliantly, and he greatly increased his ambition for Chinese, and from today's point of view, this has to be said to be a classic battle......
Fumishi Ichika
April 23, 2024
Written in Guilin